Life-raft.



110.850,84?. PATBNTED APR.16,`1907.

P. G. PETRIE. LIFE RAFT.

APPLIOATIOH FILED JUHE 2, 1905.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

No. 850,847. I PATBNTED APR. 16. 1907.

P. C. PETRIE.

'LIFE 'RAFT.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE Z, 1905.

2 SHEETS-Bmw 2.,

ATTORNEYS PETER CONRAD PETRIE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 16, 1907.

Application flied June z, i905. Serial No. 263,370.

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PETER CONRAD PE- TRIE, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of the city of New York, Flushing, borough ofQueens, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented anew and Improved Life-Raft, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description.

The essential object of my invention is to provide a practicallyindestructible life-raft with a maximum passenger-carrying capacityproportionate to its size.

I-Ieretofore it has been common practice to construct the raftprincipally of metallic cylinders or pontoons suitablyv Jfastenedtogether with decks between them. These rafts, while sufficientlybuoyant, deteriorate rapidly, owing to the corrosive action of the saltair, and are thereby weakened and made leaky, and, further, such raftsare extremely liable to puncture, which renders them entirely unfittcdfor use.

In carrying out my invention I provide side and fore and aft and, ifdesired, end of thwartwise floats or cylindersof a solid mass of wood.By experiment I have found that while other materials may be used theonly wood completely suited to this purpose, both in point oftoughnessand' buoyancy, is the wood known as Palo de balsa. This wood I form intothe floats'or cylinders referred to and fastened together in a peculiarmanner, which enables me to produce an extremely buoyant and practicallyindestructible liferaft, since the wood Palo de balsa is durable andtough and capable of standing hard usage without deterioration. v

My invention involves various other features of major or minorimportance, all of which will be fully set forth hereinafter andparticularly pointed out in the claims.

Reference is had to the accompanying` drawings, which illustrate asexamples two manners in which my invention may be practically embodied.In these drawings like characters of reference indicate like parts inthe several views, and in Which- Figure 1 is a plan view of one form ofthe invention. Fig. 2 is a section thereof on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.Fig. 3 is a cross-section of one of the floats on the line 3 3 ofFig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan view of a modified form of the invention, andFig. 5 is an end view of the same.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, l0 indicates the solid Palo de balsa,side or fore and aft cylinders or floats, and 11 indicates end orthwartwise floats or cylinders. The end floats 11 are provided withsaddle-like ends which fit the rounding sides of the side iioats 10, andthe side floats are provided with straps 12, encircling their endportions and connected in pairs by tie-rods and turnbuckles 14;. Thesetie-rodsand turnbuckles exert a stress tending to draw the side iioatstogether, which tendencyT is resisted by the end floats, thus forming arigid structure possessing maximum durability. The side flo ats 10 areprovided at their outer and lower edges with battens or cleats 15, andthese are riveted or bolted into the floats, as shown in Fig. 3. Ifdesired, metallic straps 16 may be provided, which straps embrace theside iioats and battens and are held by the bolts or rivets abovedescribed. The deck 17 of the raft has a rigid structureof slats, as thedrawings show, and it is connected to the floats by means of chains 18,attached to the metal straps. These chains permit the deck to hang belowthe level of flotation of the float. The chains are attached to the deckby straps 18", as shown. The deck 17 is of a size which permits it tomove freely between the floats, and it therefore is dropped below theraft no matter which side of the raft happens tov be uppermost. When theraft is overboard, the deck will sink below the raft and be sustained bythe chains 18. The passengers on the raft will stand on the deck insideof the floats 10 and 11. Consequently portions of the bodies of thepassengers will be submerged, and the weight which the raft will berequired to sustain will be considerably reduced. This gives to the rafta greater carryinr capacity than otherwise, and it also enabIes it tocarry its passengers Vmore safely, since there is less danger of thepassengers washing overboard.

The construction shown in Figs. 4 and 5 involves the side fioats 10t andthwartwise sec. tions llwhich sections may be formed, as the floats 10a,of the Palo de balsa wood, or they may be formed of other wood ormaterial. The ends of the iioats 10a are strapped,

.as indicated at 16, and the iioats are drawn together by tie-rods andturnbuckles 14a, as before explained, the ends of the thwartwisesections l1a being saddle-shaped to receive the fore and aft floats 10a,the same as described' with respect to Figs. 1 and 2. I also providecrossing diagonal tie-rods and turnbuckles 19, which impart additionalrigidity to the structure.

which are attached to the raft in the usualv manner.

These rafts may be fitted for use on seaoin craft by supplying them withlockers or t e necessary stores of food, water, signals, &c.

Having thus described the preferred form of my invention, what I claimlas new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A life-raft, consisting of side and end fioats formed of solid logsof buoyant wood, the end floats having saddle-'shaped ends fitting uponthe side floats a short distance from their ends,longitudinally-extending cleats on the upper and lower sides of the sidefloats, bands on the side floats, the intermediate bands embracing thecleats, bolts passing through the said bands, cleats and floats,tie-rods provided with turnbuckles and secured to the bands on theprojecting ends of the side floats, a slatted deck movable freelybetween the fioats, and chains secured to the deck and to theintermediate bands of the said side floats.

2. A life-raft, comprising side and end fioats formed of solid logs ofbuoyant wood, the end floats having saddle-shaped ends fitting u on theside floats a short distance from t eir ends, longitudinal cleats on theupper lower sides of the side floats, bands on the side floats, theintermediate bands embracing the cleats, tie-rods secured to the bandson the ends of the side floats projecting beyond the end floats, aslatted deck movable freely between the floats, and chains secured tothe deck and to the intermediate bands of the said side floats.

3. A life-raft, comprising side members formed of solid logs of buoyantWood, transverse or thwart members having saddleshaped ends fitting uponthe side members, the side members having their ends projecting beyondthe transverse or thwart members, longitudinal cleats on the upper andlower sides of the side members, bands on the projecting ends of theside members, tie-rods provided with turnbuckles and secured to thebands on the ends of the side members projecting beyond the transverseor thwart members, and a slatted deck carried by the said members.

In testimony whereof I have signed my naine to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

PETER CONRAD PETRIE.

Witnesses: j

JAMES SARvrs, Jr., H. L. DEs ANGES.

